5 THINGS THAT CHALLENGE ME ABOUT LOVE

Love is a beautiful thing and the greatest gift of them all. Love is a conversation I was having with my beautiful sister friend Yinka Enahoro yesterday. We were discussing all the many types of love. When you read the Bible especially the New Testament, the Love described is selfless, sacrificial and unconditional love. It is Agape Love.  Love is a strong value for both of us. As a believer and someone who daily tries to emulate Christ, here are 5 things that challenge me about Agape love.

1. Love is patient and kind. Throughout my Christian life, this verse has always challenged me. How can you be patient and kind to people who misbehave or treat you badly? If people treat you badly you want to retaliate but I guess you have to take a deep breath. Stop in your tracks and remember what you know about love. Never repay evil for evil. It’s not easy shaa but it’s clearly stated that Love is patient and kind. Breath with me now, if someone has upset you.

2. Love one another and live at peace. I would rather live at peace then live in malice and that’s what I was saying to Yinka yesterday. Recently I bumped into someone at an event and forget that we had fallen out and hugged her like a long lost friend. After hugging her, it dawned on me that I wasn’t supposed to be speaking to her. But guess what? I had forgotten what the quarrel was about. It's not always easy to live at peace but we must pray for grace. When we live at peace it affects our well being, positively.

3. Love your enemies and pray for those who despise you. I use to believe this was impossible to achieve but with maturity and an understanding of Agape love, it is possible.  It's very freeing especially when you know in your heart that you haven't done anything wrong. Just pray for people that dont love you or who wrong you. People are going through a lot and have deep rooted pains, so we shouldn't take bad behaviour personally. Its not about us.

4. A friend loves at all times. I often meditate on this verse but these days rather than focusing on how my friends are loving me, I look inward and ask myself how am I loving them? When we take the focus off what others are doing for us and really look at our actions, we will be able to really examine if we are a good friend and try our best to love at all times.

5. Love holds no record of wrong doing. This is a big challenge for me and one I'm always trying to figure out how to practice this. Does it mean we should just tolerate bad behaviour from people? No it doesnt. I believe it means dont hold yourself ransom to people's wrong doing. How does it feel when you start listing all the wrongs that people have caused you? Not great right? Does it give you peace? Forgiveness is key and we have to forgive daily, even for the worst of acts. 

Agape love is not an easy act to follow and doesnt not come naturally to us but it has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. So seek HIM daily. 

So those are my 5 challenges of loving others with Agape Love but that is what our Heavenly Father commands us to do. How about you? What aspects of the Love commandment are you challenged with? Would love you to share a comment. 

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Thanks for stopping by RiRi xxx